Wow, it's been forever since I've started a topic here! I've been debating this in my head for quite some time as to whether or not Z Kai replaces Z for me, as a dub fan. I mean that by does Z Kai replace Z in terms of the way I watch Z at all and in terms of if it completely overwrites the home release of Z on blu-ray. Z Kai, personally, is a perfect release and I can watch the dub with no problems at all. But I keep going back to if I should just get rid of my Z blu-rays since the dub is horrendous to my standards. Then again, it has the original Japanese version with original music as it aired originally. It's been a crazy battle in my head. My question for you is, does Z Kai replace Z in anyway for you or can you let both shows sit side-by-side in your head and on your shelf?

As primarily a sub fan, I love watching both and one doesn't replace the other for me. However, I've loved the Funi dub since the Toonami days when I was in middle school but I've found that since Kai, I can't stomach the old dub anymore. I've tried several times to sit down for a rewatch, but I just can't do it. Especially the Freeza arc stuff. Not even nostalgia is enough anymore. Basically, no Kai doesn't replace Z, but if I'm going to watch a dub, it can only be from Kai onwards.

Not at all. I really enjoy Kai as an alternate way to experience Z, but at the end of the day it doesn't have the Team Faulconer score, there are certain filler scenes that I enjoy, and I still like Nadolny's Gohan a bit more than Clinkenbeard's. And I enjoy the corny dialogue from English Z, as well as Goku's heroic portrayal.

Kai has a lot going for it too though, such as better acting, being able to get through the story faster if you're not in the mood for filler, and some really good insert songs here and there like "Super Dragon Soul, and "Only a chilling energy". And the Yamamoto score is pretty enjoyable itself if you have access to it. I've never been too bothered about 100% accuracy to the Japanese version, but it is sort of fascinating to compare the dialogue of Z and Kai where I find myself enjoying the same scenes for slightly different reasons.

I'm glad that both exist as it provides more options when it comes to rewatching the series, which prevents it from getting stale. Though If I had to pick a favourite it would still be Z.

By the time Kai was coming out in america, I just finished up collecting the orange bricks. I didn't see the point of buying the series twice. Yeah Kai has a better dub but I'm fine with the original dub. Despite season 3, the rest of it isn't as bad as people make it out too be.

Not at all. I never watch Kai. Every now and then I'll pop in the Blu-ray and maybe have a couple of episodes on in the background before I turn it off. Yet, I can watch DBZ all the time. Don't know what it is. But if I had to introduce someone to Z, I'd probably have them watch Kai just in case they want to tap out due to its length.

It took me a while to actually give Kai a chance, I'd had all my old funi prejudices.

i.e Nadoly is Gohan I can't have Luffy voicing him. (Now I can distinguish the differences Colleen does)
This isn't the original musical score
I was accustomed to other original cast members like Tiffany Volmer. I even stubbornly enjoyed Linda Young.

Having spent time watching Kai now it is superb. the only thing I'm still never sold on is Colleen as 18 (though her performance is better in the final chapters.)

I still would've liked a kai level dubbed version of the original DBZ, because as silly as it sounds I do enjoy a lot of the early filler and such.

Dragon Boxes (and i just nabbed the Level sets) for Z in Japanese, Kai on Blu Ray in Parts for English. The end. Period. Do I have everything else? Yes absolutely. I am a perfectionist completionist collector. Will I ever touch the other stuff again? Extremely unlikely.

When it comes to the original performances and technical aspect provided from the Japanese cast and production, no. When it comes to the English performances, hell yes.

Spoiler:

Akira Toriyama wrote:My policy is to try and forget things once they’re over. Since if I don’t discard the old and focus on what’s new, I’ll overload my brain capacity. I still haven’t lived down going, “Who the heck is Tao Pai-pai?” that one time I was talking with Ei’ichiro Oda-kun. But the fact that there are still people reading the series after all this time… All I can say is; “thank you.” Really, that’s all.

Akira Toriyama wrote:Drawing Dragon Ball again reminded me of two things--how much I love it, and how much I never want to do it again.

Kunzait_83 wrote:And if you're upset because all this new material completely invalidates the tabletop RPG rulebook-sized statistical system and flowchart for the characters' "canonical Power Levels" that you'd been working on painstakingly for the last bunch of years now... well I don't think there's a kind, non-blunt way of saying this, but that's 100% entirely your own misguided fault for buying so deeply into all this nonsensical garbage in the first place. And that you also have IMMENSELY skewed and comically backwards priorities in what you think is most important and needed to make a good Dragon Ball story.

Zephyr wrote:Goodness, they wrote idiotic drivel in a children's cartoon meant to advertise toys!? Again!? For the ninetieth episode in a row!? Somebody stop the presses! We have to voice our concern over these Super important issues!

FortuneSSJ wrote:Doesn't matter who wins, people would still complain about power levels.

MR.Mark wrote:I can't wait for a future arc of Super where Roshi takes on a resurrected Raditz who achieved Ultra Instinct by watching Goku do it while he was in hell.

Kamiccolo9 wrote:Fair enough, I concede. Sean Schemmel probably has some kind of hidden talent. Maybe he is an expert at Minesweeper. You're right; calling him "talentless" wasn't fair.

Unquestionably, yes. I cannot watch the previous DBZ dubs because of how badly they've aged (or rather, the dubs were never good to begin with and I was too young to notice). I only wish Dragon Ball could get redubbed too. The pacing is exactly what I want it to be and I don't miss the padded material from the original anime. I like the new music, my favorite composer is now the latecoming Sumitomo, all though I enjoyed Yamamoto too. Kikuchi's music now sounds bland. In short, I vastly prefer the new dub.

"Those transformations insane,
They wanna turn up hours late and steal the show from the pros who had to die for the name." - Yamcha (DBWTF: Z-Rap 3)

"Over saturation is easy. Just drag the slider to the right and there you are: instant interest. And certainly, the majority of the public likes saturated color images. In fact, if you want to quickly create a popular image, simply over saturate the colors and increase the contrast. While you may not achieve a sophisticated image, you will achieve an image that will please a less demanding audience." - Alain Briot

Freeza Soldier #156 wrote:As primarily a sub fan, I love watching both and one doesn't replace the other for me. However, I've loved the Funi dub since the Toonami days when I was in middle school but I've found that since Kai, I can't stomach the old dub anymore. I've tried several times to sit down for a rewatch, but I just can't do it. Especially the Freeza arc stuff. Not even nostalgia is enough anymore. Basically, no Kai doesn't replace Z, but if I'm going to watch a dub, it can only be from Kai onwards.

Man I feel you dude. I got the dboxes but I prefer the dub over the Japanese, now that I got kai it's almost like I got no reason to own the dboxes. I just can't go back to the old performances

Absolutely. I'm a stickler for pacing, and even Kai's is just "tolerable". I simply cannot deal with Z's pacing, or anything close to it, even in other shows. I've been editing a cut of One Piece episodes just to be able to watch it with my sister and not get burnt out after a couple episodes.

Kai's dubbing is top-notch, too. I don't usually mind slightly-awkward or innacurate dubs, but Kai's is good enough for me to raise my standards. "Nothing worse than...Evangelion or something, I guess. Whatever. I dunno"

Mage of Blood yeets pizza wrote:Satanism is just Atheism wearing a funny hat

Shaddy wrote:Absolutely. I'm a stickler for pacing, and even Kai's is just "tolerable". I simply cannot deal with Z's pacing, or anything close to it, even in other shows. I've been editing a cut of One Piece episodes just to be able to watch it with my sister and not get burnt out after a couple episodes.

Kai's dubbing is top-notch, too. I don't usually mind slightly-awkward or innacurate dubs, but Kai's is good enough for me to raise my standards. "Nothing worse than...Evangelion or something, I guess. Whatever. I dunno"

Eva rebuild's where a second chance at dubbing the franchise, and like Funi improved with Kai. The Eva rebuild dubs are a vast improvement on the original series IMO.

Shaddy wrote:Absolutely. I'm a stickler for pacing, and even Kai's is just "tolerable". I simply cannot deal with Z's pacing, or anything close to it, even in other shows. I've been editing a cut of One Piece episodes just to be able to watch it with my sister and not get burnt out after a couple episodes.

Kai's dubbing is top-notch, too. I don't usually mind slightly-awkward or innacurate dubs, but Kai's is good enough for me to raise my standards. "Nothing worse than...Evangelion or something, I guess. Whatever. I dunno"

Eva rebuild's where a second chance at dubbing the franchise, and like Funi improved with Kai. The Eva rebuild dubs are a vast improvement on the original series IMO.

Are the Evangelion Rebuild dubs really good?

"It was deemed to be too awesome." - Scott McNeil on Dragon Ball Kai not being aired yet in Canada.

Shaddy wrote:Absolutely. I'm a stickler for pacing, and even Kai's is just "tolerable". I simply cannot deal with Z's pacing, or anything close to it, even in other shows. I've been editing a cut of One Piece episodes just to be able to watch it with my sister and not get burnt out after a couple episodes.

Kai's dubbing is top-notch, too. I don't usually mind slightly-awkward or innacurate dubs, but Kai's is good enough for me to raise my standards. "Nothing worse than...Evangelion or something, I guess. Whatever. I dunno"

Eva rebuild's where a second chance at dubbing the franchise, and like Funi improved with Kai. The Eva rebuild dubs are a vast improvement on the original series IMO.

Are the Evangelion Rebuild dubs really good?

Well a majority of the original dub cast from 96 was replaced except for Shinji, Asuka, and Misato and those 3 seem to have improved. Overall the rebuild dubs feel more professional, like a modern dub.